Pallid Manzanita
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

PALLID MANZANITA
(Arctostaphylos pallida)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal  Threatened Species (Federal Register 63:19842  pdf; April 22, 1998)

CRITICAL HABITAT:  None designated.

RECOVERY PLAN: Draft Recovery Plan for Chaparral and Scrub Community Species East of San Francisco Bay, California (pdf). March 20, 2003.

DESCRIPTION:

Pallid manzanita (Arctostaphylos pallida), also known as Oakland Hills or Alameda manzanita, is an upright shrub in the heath family (Ericaceae). It grows from 6 to 13 feet high. Its bark is rough, gray or reddish and the twigs are bristly. The ovate to triangular leaves are bristly, strongly overlapping and clasping; they are 1.0 to 1.8 inch long and 0.8 to 1.2 inch wide. The dense, white flowers are urn-shaped and 0.2 to 0.3 inch long. Flowering period is from December to March.

Pallid manzanita commonly co-occurs with another manzanita species, brittle leaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos tomentosa ssp. crustacea), but the latter is a burl-forming species with spreading leaves. Pallid manzanita does not form burls. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the species.

DISTRIBUTION:

The species is found from 656 to 1,460 feet in elevation, primarily on thin soils composed of chert and shale. The plants are found in manzanita chaparral habitat that is frequently surrounded by oak woodlands and coastal shrub.

Pallid manzanita is known from approximately 13 populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The two largest populations, which are owned by the East Bay Regional Park District, are located at Huckleberry Ridge in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and at Sobrante Ridge in Contra Costa County. Several other small, natural and planted populations occur in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The two largest groups occupy an area of approximately 82 acres. These two populations are found in maritime chaparral, a habitat with mesic soil conditions and a maritime influence. Many smaller populations occur in coastal scrub.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The primary threats to the species are the effects of fire suppression, and shading and competition from native and alien plants. To a lesser extent, the species is threatened by fungal infection, herbicide spraying, hybridization, and the ongoing effects of habitat loss and fragmentation.

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in November 1997. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Amme, D. and N. Havlik. 1987. An Ecological Assessment of Arctostaphylos pallida Eastwood, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Four Seasons. 7(4):28-46.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1998. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for One Plant, Arctostaphylos pallida (Pallid Manzanita), From the Northern Diablo Range of California. Portland, Oregon.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Draft Recovery Plan for Chaparral and Scrub Community Species East of San Francisco Bay, California. Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

General Information about California Plants

Photo credit: Pallid Manzanita © 2004 Steve Matson Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0204 0286

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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